base for scenery

Hi

Is there anything you can recommend to use as a base for scenery? I am not talking about whole table. Just for i.e. couple buildings, bit of road with some clutter, etc. A thought about cardboard but I am not convinced. At the moment i am using foam core but if this can peel on the sides. I thought maybe there are some square plastic sheets that would be good but not sure how useful it is.

Can you please share what you use in your scenery?

Don't use foamcore, it can warp as i have found out.
Buildings look a lot less realistic when one end of them is curling skywards.

I am using 3mm hardboard for basing buildings.
PVA glue sticks foamcore to it without a problem.

Look for old Clip Boards. I go to Donation resale places, like Good Will, and look for cheap stuff like that. I’ve purchased clip boards for a $1, each and then drill out the rivets for the metal brackets. Then sand the surface to rough it up some and hold glue better. The wood is thin, strong, and heat treated.

MDF board or sheet metal works well, I hear.

Theo

I use 1/4" thick blue insulation foam I found on the job. I slice the borders at an angle, and cover the whole thing with elmer's glue and sand, and go to town painting.

before


after

I use 3mm MDF board and it comes up really well. Probably not the cheapest option, but you can get quite a lot of bases out of a single sheet, and the edges shape really well with a little sandpaper!